It will be a banner day
in Upper Holmesburg

By William Kenny
Times Staff Writer

A big asset in trying to get organized as a community is letting people know that they, indeed, are part of that specific community.
The Upper Holmesburg Civic Association is hoping that a sign and banner campaign will help strengthen Upper Holmesburg’s neighborhood identity and convince more local folks to participate in the eighth-month-old civic group.
With the help of the Major Artery Revitalization Committee, the UHCA hopes to install two "Welcome to Upper Holmesburg" signs along Frankford Avenue in the coming months, according to Dave Ward, vice president of the civic group.
Speaking at the UHCA’s monthly general meeting on June 16, Ward said that the civic group has applied for MARC funding for the signs.
MARC is a non-profit organization formed last year that receives city and federal funding and distributes it to community groups in Northeast Philadelphia for cleaning and beautifying their neighborhoods.
Thomas Conway, an assistant managing director for the city of Philadelphia and head of the city’s Community Life Improvement Program (CLIP), is president of MARC. Chris Creelman, an aide to City Councilwoman Joan Krajewski, is treasurer.
One of the signs is proposed for park ground along the avenue adjacent to Pennypack Creek. It would be painted dark green with gold lettering on one side to welcome northbound motorists and pedestrians into Upper Holmesburg.
A second similar sign, but painted on both sides, is proposed for a traffic island at Frankford Avenue and Academy Road.
Also, the UHCA is planning to hang green and gold vinyl banners along Frankford and Torresdale avenues, although specific placement has not been determined.
In the future, the UHCA hopes to obtain funding for additional signs along Torresdale Avenue, similar to the two planned for Frankford Avenue.
The UHCA is also working on several other community beautification projects.
In past months, residents have raised concerns about a neglected lot at Frankford Avenue and Pennypack Street.
Ward reported that the CLIP program, which is funded by city tax dollars, is now mowing the lawn. Meanwhile, discussions are underway to develop the lot as a public park.
Members of the UHCA executive board envision a facility with paved walkways, benches, a flower garden and perhaps other landscaping or a statue.
Meanwhile, the UHCA is applying to the office of state Rep. Mike McGeehan for funding to replace the metal historical marker at King’s Highway Bridge with a bronze one.
Also known as the Frankford Avenue Bridge, it was built in 1697 over the Pennypack Creek and is believed to be the oldest stone bridge in the country serving regular vehicle traffic.
It was named a National Civic Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineering in 1970.
Also during last week’s meeting, the civic group circulated a petition in support of painting the railroad trestle over Frankford Avenue just south of the aforementioned bridge.
The trestle is covered in rust and has long been considered a community eyesore. Other similar structures throughout the Northeast have been repainted in recent months, many by MARC, with neighborhood-identifying messages.
Ward reported on several local land-use issues that the civic group is monitoring.
The UHCA is attempting to contact the ownership of two idle commercial properties along Frankford Avenue. A former gas station at Frankford and Strahle Street has been boarded up and painted all black. Some neighbors have complained that the abandoned-looking place makes the area look bad, Ward said.
Similarly, a former family restaurant across the street has been out of operation for an extended period of time, and neighbors are concerned about its future use.
Meanwhile, a residential property at 4434 Ashburner St. is vacant and has a tree that a neighbor claims is growing across the property line into the home next door, Ward said. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Company of Jacksonville, Fla., owns the vacant property, according to the civic leader. The UHCA is attempting to get the tree trimmed.
With the civic group’s support, the Davis auto dealership of Frankford Avenue and Ashburner Street received zoning approval for auto sales activities. Davis has operated at the location for the last four years, Ward said, but did not have the proper city approval for auto sales there.
In response to concerns from businesses in the Holmesburg Shopping Center that the dealership was parking its merchandise in the shopping center’s lot, the dealership has agreed to keep its cars on its own property, according to the civic leader.
Ward reported that the civic association and the Upper Holmesburg Town Watch are both looking for more members. Since the first few meetings of the UHCA, attendance at its monthly general meetings has slipped from about 60 to about 30. Though the warm weather and vacation season can be blamed for some of the drop off, the group needs more active participants, the vice president said.
Similarly, the Town Watch, which was created several months ago by members of the civic group, is in need of more volunteers to patrol neighborhood streets once a month, to cover the "base" radio unit during patrol hours or simply to serve as "eyes and ears" from their own homes.
The civic association meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at St. Dominic Church’s Marian Hall, on the 8500 block of Frankford Avenue.
The Town Watch meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at St. Dominic Church’s Parish Center, Room 2, at 7 p.m. For more information, call 215-338-2918. ••
Reporter William Kenny can be reached at 215-354-3031 or bkenny@phillynews.com